Friday, August 10, 2012

Leaves of Three...Let it Be...

These words ring out to anyone that has spent time hiking or biking in the woods. Of course as a kid living in the Hayward Hills where poison oak covers more ground than almost any other plant, they didn't help me avoid the scratching itching burning little beast. I and my brothers were regulalry dealing with the annoying little rash on some part of us or another most summers....

The solution back then was scratch it till it was raw, then jump in the chlorinated pool.....sure, it wasn't the most scientific or medically sound treatment, but once the screaming stopped, it was usually pretty effective.

Over the years I grew to respect and avoid this noxious shrub and, for most of my adult life, even though I hike, fish and ride my mountain bike in the hills regularly, I've been pretty lucky in that I've avoided it.

This past Tuesday though ,as I got to work I noticed a rash on my left wrist. Thinking it was just irritation from my watch, I took off the watch, washed the area and put on some hydrocortizone cream....no big deal right????? WRONG....all day long it bothered me and when I got home I noticed a red bumpy rash all over my arm from the back of the hand up to my bicep...oh crap!
I've been here before and this isn't going to be fun....sure enough, Wednesday morning dawned to the insane itchy-ness on both arms from the wrist to the bicep....

The crazy thing is that I haven't actually ridden my bike near poison oak for the past two weeks so I'm not sure when I came in contact with it. I've read that the oil (urushiol in case you're wondering) can stay on surfaces for several months so now the issue is, what did I touch over the weekend that had the oil on it. Was it the laundry? I know I washed my bike jacket this past weekend. Was it the bike itself? I worked on my SS on Saturday. Was it the geared bike? Angel had borrowed that and I picked it up from his house on Sunday....

If you see someone in my neighborhood wearing rubber gloves and a haz mat suit while they clean out their garage, their truck, do all their luandy and strip and remake the bed.....you'll know its me trying my hardest to make sure I never get this stupid rash again....